Ride Off Into The Sunset
by anonyreaderfan
Summary: One shot written around a preview of 4.19 where Damon uses the phrase "Before you ride off into the sunset . . " NOT Delena or Stelena


Disclaimer: The Vampire Diaries is the property of the CW. No copyright infringement is intended.

~ X ~

Elena hung back in a quiet corner of the Mystic Falls Diner, watching Caroline hug Matt. Her curiosity was aroused by the fierceness of the embrace. They stepped back, leaving space between their bodies, but their arms were still wrapped around each other. Elena could only see Matt's face and it held a combination of sadness and was that regret?

She concentrated and listened carefully. "Take care of yourself."

"I will." An unusually low key Caroline promised.

They stood that way a moment longer and then Caroline gently disengaged his arms, sliding her grasp down to his hands and squeezed, saying. "This could go on forever. Bye."

She backed away before turning and almost made it to the door when Matt called after her. "Keep in touch!"

That brought a smile to Caroline's face. "You know me. You'll get sick of hearing every detail after awhile." They both laughed and she quickly left.

Elena followed, falling into step beside her. "What was that all about?"

Caroline voice and face were carefully neutral; not expressing any friendliness but also not the outright disdain that characterized her current dealings with Elena.

"Saying goodbye to a childhood friend. Time to move on." Caroline kept her steps even, not hurrying but not dawdling either.

Elena mocked. "So what are you going to do? Go to college?"

"Nope." Caroline kept it brief.

"Well what?" Elena prodded.

"Nothing you'd be interested in." Was the cool response.

"Tracking down a hybrid and you notice I'm not asking which one?" Elena wore a self satisfied smile, clearly pleased with her little jab.

Caroline ignored her, not giving the slightest indication that she had even heard the question.

Elena reached to grab her arm but Caroline jerked back out of her range. There was not even the pretense of friendliness on her face. "Don't touch." It was a definite warning.

Elena stood for a moment, surprised that Caroline hadn't attempted to mollify her. She thought about it for a moment and then came to the realization that Caroline had managed whenever possible to avoid contact with her for a while now.

"So." Elena said shrewdly. "The eternal optimist has had enough. No more Miss Congeniality."

"You bet." Caroline nodded. "Enough of you, that's for sure. I finally know you for what you are."

Caroline started walking again but she kept a wary eye on the dark haired vampire, ready to defend herself if necessary.

Caroline's SUV was parked just around the corner.

Elena ran her eye over the crowded interior of the car. There was space down the middle leaving just enough room for the driver to see out the back window; otherwise it was packed with suitcases and other bits and pieces of things.

"No more goodbyes? No more friends to see you off? Where's your friend Stefan?"

The last sentence was particularly spiteful. She didn't care about Stefan anymore but it enraged her when he paid attention to Caroline. Maybe it was because Caroline annoyed her with her goody two shoes advice or maybe it was because she was possessive. What was once hers was always hers. She didn't spend any time trying to analyze why it bothered her. It was enough that it did.

Caroline let a tight smile cross her face. "All the goodbyes have been said. Matt was the last."

Caroline got in and slammed the door. She rolled the window down as she put the car in drive. She didn't bother to slow down knowing Elena would hear the words the wind whipped out of her mouth.

"I got a much better sendoff then you'll get."

Elena's brows rose at that last sentence. It was almost nasty. She thought quietly for a moment and then got her own car. She cruised around town and stopped only when she recognized Stefan's little red car outside Sheriff Forbes' house.

_Now what's going on here?_ She knew Stefan was on good terms with the Sheriff; that is as much as any vampire could be but that didn't usually include visits.

She parked behind the sports car and got out. After peering inside she jumped up and sat on the still warm hood. She leaned back on her elbows, artistically arranging her long slender legs to show them off to their best advantage. Her mini just barely covered what needed to be covered but she was comfortable, settling in to wait for Stefan.

The screen door eventually opened and he came out. Only another vampire could have caught the tiny jerk of his head that showed he was surprised to see her. He was good about covering it up though. A human would have never caught on.

"Your car's got a suitcase in it." She gave him her sexiest smile, knowing the effect it usually had on him. "Is this Mystic Falls moving day?"

"Sheriff Forbes has banned vampires. You'll be hearing about it soon enough." He said without any inflection in his voice.

She shrugged nonchalantly. "This town is getting boring anyways now that Silas is gone."

She smiled widely, mocking him. "So now that the cure is gone and there's no hope of turning me back to human, what's the Salvatores' plan for me? Going to babysit in tandem? Taking shifts? Are you off searching for a new town where you can isolate me and keep me out of trouble?"

He motioned her off the hood of his car. "There is no Salvatores plan." He said emphasizing the s. "There may be A Salvatore plan but I don't know what it is and I don't care."

Elena's puzzlement showed only for a moment. She quickly wiped it off her face and slid off the hood to confront Stefan.

"And just what does that mean?" She playfully ran her fingers down the lapel of his jacket, admiring the cut. "Hmmm. You're looking very good today."

He removed her hand and she preened expecting he would use it as an opportunity to prolong the contact. Instead he dropped it as if it was something nasty.

Her complacent smile wavered and then was firmly fixed back in place.

"As you've told me and anyone else that will listen I'm pathetic. You don't care for me." He raised her eyebrows as if daring her to dispute it.

She pouted archly. "Doesn't mean we weren't good together in bed."

He carefully walked around her and reached for the car door. "Well . . as I told Damon I would stick around until we got the cure for you and then I was leaving."

He shrugged. "The cure was used to stop Silas. There's no chance of turning you back to human. Therefore I'm done here."

He opened the car door but she slammed it shut. "Really. Are you just saying that to trick me?" She looked up at him from under her lashes.

He leaned against the car and folded his arms. "You don't need me. You don't want me. I have a life to start living."

She laughed, not believing him. She stood hands on her hips, mocking him. "Confess. What is this new plan you two have going to redeem me?"

"No plan. No redemption. You are what you are." Stefan firmly pushed her aside and got in the car, putting the key in the ignition.

She seductively bent over and rested her forearms on the window frame. "What will you do if you don't love me?" She baited him.

"See that's the point." Stefan looked at her, green eyes shining in the fading sunlight. "The Elena I loved is no more. And even if we had succeeded in bringing her back I was going to end it. No more Elena. No more even for the Elena I loved. I was done. No more endless cycles of fighting my brother over her."

Elena smirked. "Oh sure Ste . . "

She was nearly knocked over as the red car took off, heading out of town towards the setting sun.

She regained her balance and stood watching, openmouthed with shock. "You'll be back." She yelled after the car. Something wild and frightened stirred in the depths of her mind. It beat its wings against a mental cage but she viciously suppressed it. It upset her; upset her calm.

She slowly got into her car, hating the unaccustomed feeling of uncertainty. She was comfortable only with hunger and rage and lust. There was no room in her life for anything else.

Elena did something she hadn't done in awhile. She headed to Bonnie's house. She recognized the urge from her former life. In times of uncertainty talk with your friends. She didn't feel anything for them but it was an ingrained habit.

Her knock brought Mayor Hopkins to the door.

"Hi! Is Bonnie in?" She smiled her best imitation of the old Elena warm friendly smile.

The mayor wasn't fooled. He eyed her solemnly for a few moments before saying sternly. "You're not welcome in this house. Or in this town as a matter of fact."

The smile changed to condescending. "But I've been invited in. How do you intend to keep me out?"

Suddenly a pain so terrible hit her she could do nothing but collapse in agony. When it finally subsided enough so she could stand she found she was facing a grim faced Bonnie.

"What was that?" She demanded.

"It's too show you that you are not wanted and you would be wise not to threaten." Bonnie's arms were crossed and her tone unfriendly.

Elena softened her voice and put her hands out beseechingly. "But we're best friends."

"You're not the girl who was my best friend." Bonnie denied. "You haven't been the girl I grew up with for a long time now. You're a vampire with her feelings shut off."

"But B . . "

"Don't waste your breath." Bonnie said flatly. "You haven't fooled anyone for a long time now."

Elena's face turned hard and her eyes narrowed dangerously but Bonnie didn't back down, just raised her chin challengingly.

Elena knew she could win only if she took Bonnie by surprise. The reckoning would come but not today.

She left heading for the only place left to go. Even though she had been avoiding him because she hated being lectured she headed towards the boarding house. She smiled as she thought. _We can have some good sex and it will make Stefan jealo . . _She stopped mid thought. Stefan wouldn't be there and that bothered her.

Again she shrugged off her discomfort. _I'll be nice to Damon and we can go out dancing and feeding._

She pulled in the driveway, the gravel scrunching under her tires. She slowly got out of her car, her eyes locked on the unaccustomed sight of Damon sitting on the front steps, a glass in his hand, and a liquor bottle next to him.

One hand rested on a knee, the other held the liquor glass to his forehead as if cooling an overheated brow. He never looked at her, continuing to gaze at something in the distance.

Elena strutted over, trying to catch his line of sight. She couldn't determine what he was looking at and when he paid no attention to her she sat down next to him.

He continued to stare off into the distance.

She figured she would humor him. "Okay, I'll ask. Whatta you looking at?"

He replied, still not looking at her. "The sunset."

She gave an uncertain laugh. "Is that some kind of joke?"

"Nope." He said without a trace of amusement.

"Why?" She asked hesitantly, still half convinced he was playing some kind of trick on her.

"He did it." Damon said. "He actually did it."

She leaned forward, twisting to peer into his face. "You're not making sense. Who did what?"

"My brother. He rode off into the sunset. He said he was going to do it and he did."

He finally turned to look at her. "He had enough. I thought he would change his mind but he didn't."

Elena rolled her eyes. "Is that all? He'll be back. You know he loves me. He'll be annoying both of us again in no time."

Damon stared at her like she was a stranger. Elena saw the change in his eyes, the hardening of his face and for some reason felt defensive. "What? You know it's true? He runs around after me like a little puppy."

"I'm glad he left. He deserves someone better than you." Was the level reply.

"Ouch!" She said. "Did you want me to pretend? You should be happy. There's no competition now."

"Actually, I've been thinking." He poured himself another glass. "I deserve better too."

She raised her eyebrows at him, twisting her lips in amusement. "You know you can't help yourself when it comes to me. You love me."

He drained his glass and set it down. He slowly and deliberately picked up the bottle and stood, looking down at her.

"Sheriff Forbes wants us out by Friday. Any vampire left in town is gonna get staked. You can stay here until then but if you're smart you'll get out."

He staggered off to his power blue convertible, hanging onto the bottle, leaving her stunned. "Where are you going?"

He smiled at her. "That sunset looks mighty inviting. Think I'll track down my brother. We got some bonding to do."

She sighed and got up, brushing off her dress. "Oh, all right. I guess I have nothing else going on now."

"You're not invited." Damon said flatly.

"Are you really going to leave me unattended? What about all those poor humans you have to protect from me?" She goaded him, convinced she still had the upper hand.

He clumsily opened the car door and flopped into the seat, trying to balance the open bottle and his car keys. After two tries he got the engine started and put it in gear. He smiled that trademark lopsided smile that never failed to charm.

"Frankly Scarlett . . I don't give a damn!"

He gave a cheery wave and pealed out of the driveway, leaving Elena staring after him dumbfounded.

She stood motionless in the rapidly fading light, resembling nothing so much as a life size doll. Finally long after the light faded the doll voiced her confusion and disbelief in a small plaintive voice.

"But you both love me!"

~ FIN ~


End file.
